Leading professional services firms join together to enable more apprenticeships

Professional services firms enable more apprenticeships

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Leading professional services and industry employers, professional bodies and training providers have come together to develop a new apprenticeship standard for the audit, accountancy and tax professions.

The new standard has been developed to provide school leavers with a further route into the sector and develop the skills, knowledge and behaviours that they need to build successful and sustainable careers in business. The apprenticeship standard has been designed to meet the needs of employers and to enable apprentices to study towards a professional qualification, where required.

The Professional Accountancy / Tax Technician standard qualifies as a Higher Apprenticeship within the Government’s Trailblazer initiative. KPMG welcomed the opportunity to work alongside other professional services employers and professional bodies to develop this new employer-led standard.

The employers, professional bodies and training providers share common ambitions to widen access to the audit, accountancy and tax professions, improve productivity and maintain quality standards. The development of this new standard and its accompanying assessment plan will enable employers, both large and small, to invest in opportunities for young people. With support from training providers and professional bodies, employers will be able to broaden their search for talent and help their apprentices to succeed, irrespective of their background.

The employers involved in developing the standard include KPMG, PwC, EY, Deloitte and a range of large and small employers from the sector. Together, these organisations already offer a variety of entry routes to professional roles for school leavers and apprentices. It is hoped that the new standard will attract even more young people into professional services; offering employers greater opportunities to tailor their apprenticeships to meet their talent and productivity needs.

Nadhim Zahawi MP, the Prime Minister’s Advisor on Apprenticeships, said: “It is really welcome news that the new standard is being bought forward – as it will not only mean great opportunities for young people to develop a career in this sector, but that the training and skills they will receive has been designed by employers who know exactly what the next generation needs to thrive and go far.

“It is great to see leading employers from this industry coming together to work collaboratively on this, and support young people to develop the skills they will need to be the rising stars of the future. This will create a whole host of new opportunities in this field, and I very much hope to be meeting many of the apprentices who will benefit from this later in the year.”

Michael Walby, KPMG director, apprenticeship programmes, said: “I am excited to confirm that KPMG will be adopting the Accountancy / Taxation Technician standard for our innovative apprenticeship programme, KPMG360°, launched in autumn 2015. KPMG360°, powered by this standard, will widen access to opportunities for the next generation of business leaders, advisors and entrepreneurs, irrespective of background.

“As Chair of the Employer Group that developed the Accountancy / Taxation Technician standard, I feel privileged to have worked alongside a diverse group of employers, professional bodies and training providers. Individual competitive advantage has been put aside in the interests of collaboration to improve access to opportunities for young people within professional services.

“KPMG puts widening access to the professions and social mobility at the heart of its corporate responsibility strategy. We look forward to introducing our talented young apprentices to our clients, at a time when the apprenticeship levy is at the forefront of their minds.”

KPMG LLP, a UK limited liability partnership, operates from 22 offices across the UK with approximately 12,000 partners and staff. The UK firm recorded a revenue of £1.96 billion in the year ended September 2015. KPMG is a global network of professional firms providing Audit, Tax, and Advisory services. It operates in 155 countries and has 174,000 professionals working in member firms around the world. The independent member firms of the KPMG network are affiliated with KPMG International Cooperative ("KPMG International"), a Swiss entity. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such.